Start Doing These Things to Live the Life You Want

Don’t we miss the school days? No matter how stressful and the number of midnight oils we burned – a part of us wish we could go back to those days.

But we can only move forward. We join the workforce. We start our career paths. Perhaps we missed the fun we had, the people we used to interact with every day, and how life was much more simple.

We had fewer responsibilities and all we had to do was study. We received guidance from our classmates and teachers when we needed it. On the other hand, work leaves us busy, exhausted, and most of all – we feel like time is running out.

Some of us may start to lose track in life. And that’s not good. We start to fear. We know we need to start making changes, but how and what should you do?

No matter how great the past was, we only have NOW. And we can make it better and more fulfilling than the days we missed. As we get older, our priorities and perspective of life changes as we meet new people, develop new interests and skills.

Therefore, even though work can get hectic, and you only have less than 6 hours each day to utilise your time wisely after work, you can still live the life you dream of when you start doing these things. You can make it happen and here’s how.

1) Challenge Yourself. Go to a Class of Your Interest.

What’s that one thing you always wanted to do but hesitated? What’s holding you back? It’s time to let the fear and self-doubt go. You don’t have time to put yourself down anymore.

Challenge yourself. You need this.

Whether it’s trying out a new sport, learning a dance genre, singing, acting, working out etc. going to a class of your interest can boost your self-esteem, confidence, and happiness levels.

Telling yourself you still have time or postponing the choice is unhealthy for your mind and body.

Your life changes as you meet people who’ve similar interests as you. You create valuable friendships and establish useful connections. And these friendships are invaluable to have. You learn more about each other interests and develop a deeper sense of connection.

You never know who you’ll meet and what could happen. Doesn’t that excite you?

2) Exercise (Running, Swimming, Gym Sessions)

No matter how much you hate exercising, your mind hints you that you should do it somehow or rather.

Whether we notice it or not, we don’t feel good when we don’t exercise.

We overeat, get tired easily, develop poor posture and stiff joints, feel breathless, and are prone to diseases such as high blood pressure, strokes, and coronary heart disease.

And you wouldn’t want that to happen.

The best way to do something is to do it even when you don’t want to. This develops a strong sense of discipline and dedication not just in exercising but in your life. Or go with a friend who loves to exercise and they’re your best bet in motivating and helping you get on track.

When we’re moving our bodies, we strengthen our minds and bodies – no matter our age. It can also reduce depression, improve your overall mood, and help you sleep better.

3) Read a Book

The best thing you can do for yourself is to read. Never stop reading, learning, and obtaining knowledge.

Even if it’s just 15 minutes of reading per day – don’t stop reading, keep going, and make it a habit.

Read when you’re on public transport. Read after dinner. Read before you sleep. Lessen the social media scrolling and stalking.

How about reading online? You still can, but make reading books your priority.

Books are different. Zero distractions. You also don’t have to debate with anyone or be involved in some nonsensical conflict residing online.

When it’s just you and the book, you’re at peace, solitude, and free from time-wasting social conversations.

You’re focus on something that will bring you knowledge. And that’s more than enough.

What should I read?

Read whatever you want – even comics – they all teach us something valuable.

4) Eat Healthy, Prep Your Meals

Eating healthy has a similar concept to exercising. We do it for the sake of our own good. We feel good when we put healthy food into our bodies. It changes the way we think and act.

These nutrients provide energy we need, keep the brain active, and the muscles working. When we start prepping our meals with care and the commitment to eat healthy, we go to work with more energy and focused.

Getting distracted at work is the worst thing for any employee. You have no sense of direction, you can’t stop checking on useless sites and your phone messages – even when there’s none. It’s a sickening cycle. You get distracted so often that you spent an entire day at work doing practically nothing or using up a huge amount of time on a simple task.

Sounds terrible, huh? Indeed.

Whereas healthy and fit employees tend to have high level of concentration and self-confidence. We want to be at our best condition when we’re at work so that we can be productive and enjoy what we do.

Therefore, setting fitness goals, exercising, and eating healthy are ways to be goal-oriented at work.

5) Learn New Skills and Practice It

Never stop reading. The same goes for learning new skills and practicing it.

In today’s competitive world, employers are on the lookout for employees with a high number of skillset.

If you’re a designer, you may want to learn how programming works. This will aid you in coming up with functional yet beautiful designs when you understand the logic and aspects of programming.

You won’t find yourself making endless changes to your work because you understand what your design can do (for now), and what it needs for easier implementation and coding.

This keeps you in demand as you learn the ropes and allow new ideas and skills to be shown in your work. When we learn new skills, we’re educating and developing ourselves professionally. If you want to test your skillset, you can take on freelance jobs or even do it for free to find out how you’re faring.

We won’t have to depend on other people or watch them do what we’re interested in because we have the ability to do it ourselves. And there’s no better feeling than that.

If you’re guilty of giving time to people who don’t help you to grow, it’s time to stop this behaviour.

Start by listing out the top 5 people you should be spending time with. They could be your family members, friends, business partners, or new connections you’ve made recently.

Who should you be spending time with?

People that’re smarter and better than you at what they (or you) do.

People you aspire to be.

People that don’t stop learning and trying new things.

People who want to give back to the world.

People who challenge your mind and attitude.

Your time in this world is precious and limited. Use it well and spend it with people who can help you empower your life.

7) Reflect on the Day & Meditate

Each day has its good in it. Yet most of us fail to see the good because we’re too caught up with the bad. We overthink. We expect the worse. And it does us more harm than good.

We lose the attitude of seeing the beauty in what each day brings and how we can make the best of what we have.

Before you go to sleep, look back and focus on the good things that happen today. This triggers your mind to think positively and to fill it with good memories and thoughts.

Write them down. You can also reflect on the day by asking yourself what could you have done today to make it better and do it tomorrow.

Close your eyes and focus on your inner voice. Meditate. Block your external surroundings and noise from distracting you. Breathe deeply and relax. Don’t put yourself down if you have trouble meditating. It takes constant practice to get it right.

Go straight to bed after you meditate. You shouldn’t be watching TV or uploading a selfie after that. You’re done for the day. Stay grateful and look forward to the wonders of tomorrow.

After work, we want to relax and spend time doing what we like. However, what we like often causes us to feel unhappier and stressed out, such as eating unhealthily, spending unnecessary money on material items, or looking for the wrong people to make us happy.

Doing the above mentioned takes our mind off the clutter and noise we face in our lives. At the same time, we’re beginning to learn how to take more control of our well-being and ultimately to the life we want as we develop an enhanced and healthier version of ourselves.

It may seem like a big step for some of us, but you’re going to thank yourself in the long run for having the courage now to take this life-changing step.